By Zoila Palma: U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday.
The operation targeted illicit oil linked to Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions for years and has relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to move crude into global markets, AP reports.
According to the Defense Department, troops boarded the vessel, the Veronica III, in what it described as a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding.” Officials said the ship attempted to evade a quarantine ordered in December by President Donald Trump to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro before Maduro was apprehended in January during a U.S. military operation.
The Pentagon stated the tanker “tried to defy” the quarantine but was tracked across oceans and stopped.
The Veronica III, a Panamanian-flagged tanker under U.S. sanctions tied to Iran, departed Venezuela on January 3 carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil, according to TankerTrackers.com.
U.S. officials did not say whether the vessel has been formally seized.
The post International News: U.S. military boards sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean after pursuit in Caribbean appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday. The operation targeted illicit oil linked to Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions for years and has relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to
The post International News: U.S. military boards sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean after pursuit in Caribbean appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
